How do loans work?

<p>I really don't understand loans. I watched a video about these students who graduated and now are facing difficulties because of the huge loans they have to pay off but they can't find a job.
I don't understand how they have loans to pay off. When I tried to go to university they said I can only get a certain amount of loans and then a certain amount of a parent loan. At the end of each semester I would HAVE to pay off some of the loan. Well turns out either way I couldn't afford it. Then I made another topic on here asking if it was possible for a loan given only to me and I can pay it off only once I graduated. And like, make monthly payments then. And people said that it wasn't possible.</p>

<p>Wow no one knows? Seriously? :/</p>

<p>The only undergraduate loan YOU can get by yourself is the federal Stafford and Perkins loans, and you can only take up to $5,500 in Stafford loans your freshman year, going up to about $7,500 in your senior year. Perkins loans are smaller and only available depending on your financial need and your school.</p>

<p>Borrowing any more than that is not only unwise, it is impossible unless your parents agree to sign the loan.</p>

<p>Stafford and Perkins loans do not have to be repaid until after graduation or you drop out. After that, your payments depend on how much you borrowed.</p>